Hi guys,
Here’s my promised second part. If you’ve missed the first one, I’ll put the link of it down below.
While a Wory’s body is his life and family history at the same time, his hands are more kind of a business card. They include a short list of the most important things you have to know about him: Job, appointment, imprisonments, name, religion, politics etc. The whole thing is more complex since the tattoos are kept in a very minimalist structure (since they have to fit on the fingers or parts of the hands). Reading is hard, but this is intended since it’s only reserved for the underworld’s men.
Some parts of the codex got public and I’ll talk about this part. The next time you’ll be in a bar and you’ll look at the fingers of the Eastern bloc man next to you, you’ll know better about who that person might be.
Back of one’s hand:
– The back of one’s hand is often decorated with a sign of authority which often includes a quote. Many soldiers wear the caption M?P-MIR, which is an acronym for peace (Russian), but as an abbreviation it means: “Shooting will bless me”.
– The name of the girlfriends/fiancée/wife is often tattooed on the top of the knuckle to show the one who belongs to him
– The Russian word for “wolf” stands for a hunter, a hired killer, who kills people for his boss.
– On the fingers and phalanxes of the finger you’ll often see letters and small symbols. If Wory loses his position, it’s often the case that his finger will be cut off.
– The poker card symbols are very popular and stand for:
Cross – Sword (Attacking)
Pike – Spear (Following)
Heart – Shield (Defending)
Diamond – Diamonds (Wealth)
Letters can also stand for something, for example:
– A – Anarchist
– E (with crown) – Leninist
– R – collector of protection money
Symbols:
– Swastika: I’m fighting against the state and its fake puppets
– Skull on a black background: Merc/hired killer
– Gravedigger (Scarabs): A successful thief who wears the little bug as a talisman
– A small church: Being a Wory was my right of birth
– Cat: Hired thief – he gets everything you want to have
– Skull behind bars: I was imprisoned (number above explains for how long)
– Framed diamond: Officer’s rank according to the decoration
Of course, there are so many other motifs, but I think this is enough for now. Here’s a link if you want to read more about it: http://www.amazon.de/Russian-Criminal-Tattoo-Encyclopaedia-1/dp/0955862078/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1
